Wednesday, October 20, 2010

CIO Insight recently tapped upon the expertise of Stanford University's Bob Sutton to find out more about how you can take command of a room full of hotshots and assert your authority. With his latest book, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best . . . and Learn from the Worst (Business Plus/Available now), Sutton reveals a wealth of detail about how bosses win – and lose – respect among their teams. In many cases, it's about the personal style of a senior manager. In others, it's about taking control of a moment, even when that moment threatens to turn into a crisis. Sutton also presents a convincing case that being a “bully” boss isn't just a foolproof way to alienate your employees – it also results in a stressful work environment that is counter-productive and can cause excessive absenteeism. This doesn't mean you should unleash your “inner wimp” in tough situations with employees. Here's more from Sutton – who is a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford – on how to sort out the “bad” and “good” within your own managerial instincts and steer yourself in the right direction.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

On October 8th & 9th, 2010, I had the opportunity to attend the New York Comic Con at the Jacob K. Javitz Center. A discount on weekend admission is offered for educators, librarians included, as an incentive for professionals to attend. The price for a weekend pass is $10.00, as opposed to the $50.00 regular price for non-professionals. This also includes a time set aside on Friday morning when the exhibit area is open only for those with professional passes before the convention opens to the general public. Professionals wishing to only attend on Friday are given free admission for the entire day. I opted for the weekend pass since I knew I would want to attend for more than one day. This was my second time attending NYCC, having also gone to the last one in February 2009. If possible, the convention was twice as overwhelming the second time around. Despite my bewilderment, I definitely had even more fun at this year’s New York Comic Con.